Single Player Maps
All maps have been played in SP as Sonic in OpenGL.
New Super Mario Zone by fawfulfan - 1/10
Oh, jeez. I'm not sure where to start. I have a lot to talk about, so I'll put it in spoiler tags.
[spoiler:164fbec208]Well, I guess I'll start by noting how this level relates to New Super Mario Bros. As you might expect, the level music, enemies, graphics, and textures are almost all NSMB themed and use actual level music and graphics from the game itself. As far as theme goes, this is actually very true to the game it's based off of; paratroopas and paragoombas flap around whilst fire-breathing piranha plants pop out of pipes. Various power-ups can be found in certain prize blocks, even springs, which are also Mario themed. There's a bittersweet sense of aesthetics here, as the scenery is quite varied and set the mood for the level fairly well, yet some of these textures look like cake mix, and it's not pleasing to look at; the foreground can be obstructive at times, as there may be a stack of breakable blocks in front of the screen when you need to be fighting enemies. It's glaringly obvious that, for the most part, the enemies are simply graphic replacements for default enemies. I kinda liked seeing a paragoomba act like a crawla commander, but paratroopas are not supposed to be crapping midlevel, and it definitely better not be jettisyn bombs. The pop-up turrets have now been replaced by fire piranha plants that come out of pipes, but rather shooting the usual pop-up turret bullet, it shoots the other turret fire; this is very bad for 2D levels, because 2D mode is shoddy, and turret fire is fast.
The level design problems are apparent in the first room: all activation sector-type FOFs are haywire. Some times a prize or breakable block activates when you hit it, some times it doesn't; some times a note block makes you bounce, some times it doesn't. The reason why is simply because the size of those blocks are too small. It took me a while to figure out that you could actually break the blocks and such until I did it by accident, and progressing forward at the beginning requires you to hit a prize block. This all could have been solved if you simply used slightly bigger block textures and increased the linedef lengths.
The other level design problem most frequent throughout the level is the platforming. Sometimes you have coins that lead the way to safe ground when jumping, but many times it's simply a leap of faith. That's really bad for this particular level, because there are many platforms looming over bottomless pits that really force the player to go slow. Whether you thok, run too fast, or get hit by a goomba, lightning-fast piranha fire, or a paragoomba that actually went through a wall, there's a 90% chance that you're going to fall down that pit.
The level design may appear to have a handful of secrets, but don't let that fool you into thinking this level is nonlinear. This level is strictly set to one path from Point A to Point B. So, have fun getting shot out of nowhere by that same damn piranha plant and falling down that same damn hole. Or maybe thokking and bouncing off a note block that wasn't even on screen so that you could fall down a bottomless pit in a slightly different way.
When I thought it couldn't get any worse, the final part "introduced" to me the waterfall gimmick. I had no idea what this was, so I hopped on, and it flung me into the universal bottomless pit. I was awe struck by the fact that this level just got even more ridiculous; I had to fare with 2D's clunky controls and move around to get to the next randomly placed waterfall, but I also had to jump to get to it because otherwise gravity would have defeated the speed I was going. You expected me to figure this all out on first try?
You would think that a level as masochistic as this would be generous enough to give you check points after each individual part. Granted, there are plenty of opportunities for 1ups, even at a certain checkpoint, but there's only three checkpoints throughout the entire level, if memory serves correct. For how irritatingly easy it is to die in this level, you would expect twice as many checkpoints.
Probably what makes this level the least enjoyable, however, is that the wad requires you to play as Sonic at the Single Player character select screen. If you could play as either Tails or Knuckles, a lot of the problems of this level could have possibly been dismissed. The only thing Sonic can do in this level that doesn't have a high chance of harming himself is jumping.
To wrap it up, this has some of the most horrible, frustratingly thoughtless level design I've ever seen in an SRB2 wad. It seems to me as if you put in all your effort to create the NSMB theme and completely disregarded the gameplay as a whole. It really hurt, and it just droned on and on and on....
But I did complete this; I'm not afraid to do what it takes for a complete level review. And to ensure the review was full, I also decided to test this in ShufflarB2. As far as controls and physics go, this seemed far more suited for the level, and I can imagine having a lot less frustration with it. Unfortunately, the question blocks don't seem to work here, so the level is unplayable from the start.
[/spoiler:164fbec208]
North Pole Factory Zone by SonicMaster - 7/10
This is a pretty standard level; good old branching paths, good old level gimmicks.... I personally thought this had some pretty clever level design elements, to be honest. Most of these have to deal with different types of moving platforms, but every once in a while, there will also be a button that you may or may not notice in the room, and it will allow you to get to the alternative path; these are, of course, entirely optional, and they're not abusive in the least. Plenty of areas that encourage you to do a bit of thinking to get to the next part, mainly because not all of them are used the same way as every other level in existence, so it's a nice change of pace. There were only a few paths that I thought were a bit bland, and I do feel this also had a touch of Mystic Realm syndrome, because it's sort of hard to figure out which path leads to the goal and which leads in the opposite direction. This generally has a good sense of direction, though.
This is worth a replay or two; the difficulty is medium -- a little on the easy side -- but I think players of any skill level will find some good entertainment in this.
Sapphire Coast Zone, Act 2 by Blade the Hedgehog 6/10
The header for this level appears to be nonexistent.
The level itself is a good level for beginners, which it was clearly intended for, considering the enemies and theme. The springed badnik is a very nice addition, making it easier to get to certain items or places, and it definitely suits a beginning level such as this. There are plenty of different paths and things to collect (even a hidden emerald shrine -- goody goody), so it's pretty SRB2 standard, just like the last level. I can't say there's really anything that caught my attention in the level, though.... It just wasn't particularly engaging, I guess. All in all a fairly good level.
One last word of advice: I found a couple incorrect linedefs when I spindashed into the goal post and looked backwards. You might want to fix that.
Mr E Special Stage 1 by Glaber 5/10
Okay, I think I see what you're going for here. As far as a beginning special stage goes, this delivers essentially the right difficulty and doesn't introduce anything that a new player wouldn't anticipate. As far as I'm concerned, however, the level wasn't exactly "fun", it simply wasn't frustrating. The stage is actually really straightforward and requires no thought whatsoever to get through. The only challenge is the fact you have to collect the majority of all of the rings to complete the level, and the time limit forces you not to dawdle; the player essentially only finishes with about 10-30 seconds left, from what it seems. I believe you've got the difficulty part down pat; the only real suggestion I would give to you for your next special stage (assuming this is a series...) is to focus on more engaging level design rather than harsher stage requirements. As a standalone level, this feels pretty mediocre.
